Opinion
PAT NEAL: A short history of history
SOMETIMES, I MISS the good old days. The really old good old days — 13,900 years ago.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Birdwatching with a chainsaw
BIRD WATCHING IS my life. Most of my best bird watching has been done with a chainsaw.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The legend of the skunk cabbage
THERE IS NO flower more beautiful than the skunk cabbage — unless it is the skunk cabbage in…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Bringing back the dodo
THESE DAYS, SCIENTISTS are saying we are living through the sixth mass extinction on Earth. Five mass extinctions…
Opinion
POINT OF VIEW: Gun laws effective as means to curb relentless violence
I WAS BORN and raised in Alaska. My family homesteaded there. It was commonplace for residents to own…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: My funny Valentine
HELLO YOUNG LOVERS, whoever you are. I hope your troubles are few. I hope your Valentine’s Day went…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The victory of ‘Our Land: Quileute Territory’
READ ANY GOOD books lately? There’s a new one out that should interest anyone looking to learn about…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: ‘The Big Blowdown’
THERE’S A SAYING around here: If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. It will change, but…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Celebrating Robbie Burns Day
Today is Robbie Burns Day — a celebration of literature, music and fine cuisine.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The tale of the 100-pound salmon
Who says there’s no good news? A new world-record Chinook salmon weighing over 105 pounds was recently landed…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: What happened to Dollie?
IN LAST WEEK’S episode, the Press Expedition of 1889-90, a motley collection of six men, four dogs named…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A historic hard winter
BY NOW, I think we have all had it up to here with winter — even though it…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: New Year’s resolutions
THE BEST NEW Year’s resolution I ever heard belonged to the American author Louisa May Alcott. She was…
Opinion
POINT OF VIEW: The lady who taught me to appreciate life
SOMETIMES WE MEET a person who completely changes our lives. I met such a person when I was…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Finding the perfect tree
SOMETIMES IT SEEMS like the warmth and happiness of the holiday season is enough to drive the average…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The mysteries of steelhead season
IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news, when the state Department of Fish and Wildlife decided to…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Pearl Harbor Day or how my mom won the war
“DECEMBER 7, 1941— a day which will live in infamy.” President Roosevelt said these words many years ago.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Sympathy for the fish cop
IT HAS BEEN a long-held suspicion that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is managing our fish…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Hunting with Bo
WAY BACK WHEN, the Olympic elk were market hunted for their meat, antlers, hides and ivory teeth or…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Elk season
I HOPE YOUR elk season went better than mine did. Things started out bad and got worse after…